#hopefully this uploads and looks fine… if it doesnt then u didnt see this

[4s0501mdc]

just kissing the homie goodnight

no lipstick ver below the cut ⏬️

[faeriegoth]

As someone who is recently obsessed with hand-poked tattoos and doesnt use tiktok, THANK YOU for uploading that video of you practicing! There is like... not a lot of info on how to get started hand-poking the safe and sterile way online.

I had no idea what 'multiple passes' meant (and see people railing against it all the time) and couldnt figure out a way to hold the needle 😳 Wrapping it in tape is so smart and way safer than the other methods I've seen! A LOT of 'pros' are out there taping them to popsicle sticks or chopsticks... and re-using needles 😵 my tat artist wraps her tattoo machine in the same kind of tape, I don't know why I didn't think of it.

I am terrified of 'starting out' on my own skin so I've been trying to do as much research as possible on practicing the same way you would with a machine. Im going to buy the same supplies my tattoo artist has, but with a ton of fake skin, and practice on those for as long as I need to perfect the techniques and develop my style eventually.

Anyway I wish you luck on your hand-poke journey!! Your first stuff looks great already. Your vid encouraged & inspired me. I'll follow you on ig soon

thank you for this message it's v sweet :) i'm glad it helped and inspired you! if i'm honest i've had a lot going on in my personal life, mental health hasn't been great + also don't have stable housing rn so i haven't practiced in a little while, so this was a really nice message to read i appreciate it. hopefully i'll have the space to get back into it soon.

the guide i was following did suggest wrapping a popsicle stick to the needle (you see me use it to scoop the vaseline in the vid) but i found it didn't work for the way i hold the needle to poke. my tattoo artist used a popsicle stick when they did my arm tattoo, but i use tape. either way is fine just whatever works for u! i think the stick can help keep it steady and consistent, but it just doesn't feel right for the way i hold pencils etc when making art so i go with tape instead. re-using needles is obv a big no-no though, also if you're working on skin, whatever surface you're working on in the space should be sanitised and covered with cling film/saran wrap to make it as hygienic as possible - i just didnt do that with the fake skin bc i wasn't working with real skin. i'm not sure if they post internationally but i got my handpoke kit from here and they include a link to an informative guide by the seller who tattoos for a living. def recommend it if you're looking for some more insight and information

if you do follow my instagram i have a few videos of me practicing handpoke pinned as a highlight on my profile :) they're not as in-depth as the one i posted here, more like a little digital record so i can see how i improve as time goes on.

good luck on your handpoke journey! i'm by no means an expert but if you ever have any more questions about it i'll do my best to answer them